


Leaving Something

by CandlelightFool



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: AU, Angst, F/M, Family, Goodbyes, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:21:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 914
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21986572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CandlelightFool/pseuds/CandlelightFool
Summary: If Iduna had opened her mouth, and Northuldra had been an option.
Relationships: Agnarr/Iduna (Disney)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 52





	Leaving Something

“She won’t remember me?” Elsa had asked, voice small.

Her blue eyes glittering as the images shifted into darkness, and she curled into herself, growing smaller. The tendrils of smoke lashed out, and she felt shame burn behind her eyes. Elsa had not only failed to protect her sister, but had not ever considered _herself_ to be the worst danger of all. Her lips had trembled, but she did not allow herself to cry.

Agnarr had looked at her, and known that with her quiet determination, Elsa would be able to surpress her power one day. Iduna had seen her eldest daughter’s quiet suffering, and had come to her own decision.

“Agnarr,” Iduna started, carefully.

Elsa was asleep, tucked at Iduna’s side, her breath finally evened out. The way back was a leisure trip compared to their desperate departure, and they had some time to reflect now. Anna had not woken up at all, safe in her mother’s lap, but had been mumbling little nonsense words to the night sky. The moon peeked through the canopy, the shadows of the branches sticking out like gnarled bones. Iduna stroked her daughter’s red hair gently; the white streak the evidence that it had not all been a nightmare. Agnarr steered the sleigh tirelessly, and the flickering light of the lanterns deepened the lines of his face. Their time at the Valley of the Rocks had aged them all.

“It will take some time to adjust,” Agnarr returned, while Iduna fell _quiet, quiet, quiet_. “Anna won’t understand, but I don’t doubt Elsa will do her best.”

“Pabbie left the fun,” Iduna said, hesitation unfurling into intent. “But what of the future?”

“This is the only way to safeguard the future.”

“We cannot trap our children inside the castle walls.”

“Iduna,” he said meaningfully.

“Elsa will listen, her heart will bleed, but she will listen to us and close it off. And Anna, curious sprite that she is. How can we keep her away from the one she loves the most? Elsa would be just a door away. How unforgiving a punishment! We’ll break her heart, Agnarr.”

“The trolls wouldn’t lie to us.”

“What do we know of this Magic?” Iduna continued. “What can we offer Elsa, except hypocrisy. It always comes down to fear, doesn’t it? What place does she have at this side of the realm, if we make her home a prison?”

“I don’t fear my daughter,” Agnarr denied, shying away from the other words.

“No, my darling. What if she fears herself?”

“What alternative is there?”

The word burst free, like it had been impatiently waiting on her tongue: “Northuldra.”

“A fool’s errand,” Agnarr said, though now, fear coloured his tone. “Northuldra was swept away by the smoke as surely as Atlantis by the waves.”

“I don’t think it is,” Iduna denied. “Elsa was a gift, a sign of the spirits. And I can no longer turn a blind eye to the meaning.”

“Iduna?”

“Elsa will grow up freely. I will take her through the veil.”

“This is madness,” Agnarr exclaimed, then lowered his voice. “What about _Anna_? What about me?”

“We’ll find a way to each other,” Iduna promised. “Like we were always meant to do.”

"And that is all the discussion we will have on the subject?"

"I love you, Agnarr. I have not for a moment regretted the life we lived. I would save you a thousand times over, and leave everything I hold dear. And I'm prepared to do it all again for our daughter, who needs our protection the most. But I don't expect you to abandon Arendelle, and it would break my heart to leave you behind alone."

"Anna needs her mother."

 _And I need my wife_ , he thought, but did not say. Their children were what mattered, and he wondered at the coldness of his own plan. How could he ask Elsa to repress the thing that made her special, how could he ask her to hide herself and stay away from the sister she held so dear, and would be there as a daily reminder of the accident. If they had to be kept apart, how much deeper would the guilt grow on her side, like a wound never allowed to heal.

"You will keep me alive in her mind," Iduna told him. "Like Elsa will never forget you, until we find a way to return."

"I knew you were too quiet," Agnarr said. "I've learned to fear the moments that you close your mouth, for your emotions can spill over into fully formed plans."

"We have to try," Iduna pressed on. "Both our girls can be free in their own way."

Agnarr nodded once, then pulled at the reins. The sleigh made a sharp turn, and the reindeer sped up again as they rounded another bend. Elsa swayed to the other side, falling against her father. She threw an arm around his waist, and though her eyes remained closed, she cuddled closer and did not let go. Agnarr kissed the top of her head, wondering if he would ever get the chance again.

But what Agnarr did know, after he kissed Iduna goodbye with tears in his eyes, after he watched her embrace Anna, peppering her face with little kisses, both of them now crying, watching her pick up Elsa and walk through the wall of mist; what he did know, was that neither of them would stop fighting to get back to each other.

**Author's Note:**

> I won't pretend I understand the magic wall... I have seen the sequel only once and that was weeks ago, and the idea that the family would split up is a little crazy. But it wouldn't leave me, so here we are.


End file.
